No. 4 Bulldogs Race Across New England

Apr 26, 2010

Team Gearing Up for ICSA Semifinals Next
Weekend

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Bulldogs wound
down their regular season competition this weekend, racing the BU
Trophy at Boston University, the Thompson Trophy at the U.S. Coast
Guard Academy and the Priddy Trophy, the New England Freshman
Single-Division Championship, at Mass. Maritime Academy.

Yale returned to Boston University to take on the mighty Charles
River this weekend at the BU Trophy. Like much of New England
this weekend, the event was fraught with light winds. The
first two races on Saturday had to be abandoned because of
windshifts as well as the last race on Sunday. In A division,
senior John Vrolyk and sophomore Isabel Elliman placed eighth in
division with 54 points. The pair logged three top-fives in
eight races. Junior Nathan Stevens and freshman Senem
Cilingiroglu finished ninth in B division with 67 points.
They finished in the top five twice.

The Bulldogs also travelled to the Thompson Trophy, New
England's intersectional this weekend. The Eli's usual top
skipper combination, senior Thomas Barrows and sophomore Joseph
Morris, were given the weekend off in advance of next weekends ICSA
Semifinal Championship. Filling in for Barrows in A division
was junior Andrew Kurzrok, who sailed with freshman Grace
Zimmerly. Freshman Emily Billing stepped up into Morris'
place, and she sailed with sophomore Margot Benedict. The
event featured stiffer competition than the sailors typically
compete against, and the event was seen as a chance to learn and a
benchmark for off-season improvement. Winds at Coast Guard
were highly variable all weekend, with sailors fully hiking
sometimes and sitting on the traveler bar at other times.
Current was a major factor throughout much of the weekend.
Both pairs finished 17th in their respective divisions,
and Yale finished 17th overall.

This weekend also gave the freshman class an opportunity to
shine, with the freshman-only Priddy Trophy. Unlike most
collegeiate events that have both an A and B division, the Priddy
only has one division. Rafael Fernandez and Jo Hanle
represented the Bulldogs at the event. The race committee ran
nine races on Saturday in 10-15 knots of wind. Sunday's
racing was more precarious, with a shifty, dying breeze. The
Bulldogs finished 13th with 145 points.

Next weekend the Bulldogs will travel west to Seattle, Wash.,
for the ICSA Semifinals. 18 teams will compete, and the top
nine transfer to the ICSA/Gill Co-ed Dinghy National Championship
at the University of Wisconsin.